Edinburgh Waterfront

The regeneration plans for Edinburgh waterfront in Granton and Leith are underway with agreed masterplans covering a number of areas including an outline planning application currently under consideration for Leith Docks. A new Waterfront Development Partnership has been formed between the key public and private sector stakeholders to assist the strategic planning, promotion and co-ordinated delivery of this major city expansion. Alongside these developments will be a supporting transport strategy that will see the introduction of a new tram network by 2011, linking the waterfront directly to Edinburgh Airport through the city centre, a bus improvement scheme and a new continuous walkway/cycle path known as the ‘Edinburgh Promenade’, along the 12km northern edge of the city to the water.

The various developments include Edinburgh Forthside - a Forth Ports redevelopment of 258-hectares of land in Granton Harbour, Western Harbour and Leith Docks. The proposals include an exciting mix of residential, commercial, leisure and retail space. Since achieving planning consent, a variety of national and local developers have committed to construction in Granton and Western Harbour and an outline planning application for Leith Docks with the capacity for nearly 16,000 new homes and up to 200,000 sq m of new commercial/retail floorspace is currently under consideration.

In Granton, The Forthquarter is National Grid Property’s 44 hectare flagship project turning a former gas works into a new integrated and sustainable community. Alongside the award-winning new headquarters of Scottish Gas, the area has been transformed over the past five years with key supporting infrastructure including roads and a new eight-hectare public park.  On Telford College's new state-of-the-art campus, over 1,000 courses are provided to 18,000 students. The area has potential for more than 2,000 new homes, over 10,000 sq m of retail space including a new supermarket due to open in 2008, plus 60,000 sq m of new office space.

In Granton, Waterfront Edinburgh has been set up as a private limited joint venture company between the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian to lead the regeneration of 48-hectares of former industrial land.  New destinations are being created for businesses and visitors, incorporating a magnificent site along the water's edge and a series of terraces. The objective is to create a new place where there is a full range of employment uses, high quality and affordable housing, new leisure and cultural developments and where existing adjoining communities can benefit from the new opportunities.